A Summer Recap
August and September flew by for a number of reasons. Traveling, Practicing, Running, Stressing, and still trying to enjoy myself, but with all of that I still managed to shoot 19 rolls of film.
When I’m traveling I tend to take way more photographs. I’ve done my best to make sense of that and I think the obvious sentiment that it’s less familiar, and therefore more ‘interesting’ is a big factor, but what I can’t quite make sense of is why I tend to find these photographs to be better than when I’m shooting in Toronto.
Is it just that Toronto isn’t very photogenic? I don’t think that’s fair to say and I don’t think that’s the case. Is it a disenchantment with the set routines of the hometown? Possible, but again…not a fair an excuse. All I can say is that I definitely see this correlation between quality/quantity of photographs when I’m on a trip and I’m working my very hardest to bring whatever mysterious energy there is around that to hometown shooting.
Chicago, Illinois
The first trip after Taiwan was to Chicago. I was teaching at the Northwestern Percussion Symposium for a couple days up in Evanston, something I do every summer, but I always make sure to book a night in the city so I can do the rounds and revisit my favorite spots from my time living there many years ago. This trip is where I fell in love with Ilford Delta 3200 for its functional night time ISO and extremely punchy grain and contrast. I also picked up my longtime wishlist camera, the Pentax 67, for a truly insane deal which included a sleeve of Kodak Gold (thank you Facebook Marketplace).
These images were taken with Cinestill 400D, Ilford Delta 3200, and Kodak Gold in 120.
Coastal Delaware
Not even three weeks after this trip we made our way to Philly and Delaware to visit my family. Coastal Delaware is always a favorite spot to photograph because you get a weird mixture of deep rural vibes and bizarre boardwalk culture. I only had time to shoot on a super rainy day which I was initially very bummed about, but my fiancée pushed me to get out of my head and I ended up taking some of my favorite images of the summer that afternoon.
Why do we do this stuff to ourselves? Stifle our own creativity. Sadly, I blame social media and the weird sense of approval we feel we need to get by way of engagement. Does that mean we should only shoot things that will get good engagement? No.
That is fucking depressing. Just take the picture.
All of these images were captured with Cinestill 400D.
New York, New York
Cut to 2 weeks later and I’m in New York City for a very brief trip centered around playing for my teachers in preparation for an audition I was taking. I really didn’t have much time to shoot on this trip, but I decided to dedicate that limited time to working on my street photography.
I go in and out loving street photography. As an art form, I find it incredible, but I’m not always convinced my window into is the most exciting. Sadly, I can be quite the over thinker which leads me to miss the wonderful, fleeting moments on the street we all cherish when captured by the greats of the medium. Fortunately, the afternoon I dedicated to this brought me back onto to the side of loving it.
I shot my way through two rolls of film while in Times Square, a neighborhood I never find myself in, and the experience also brought me a new love and appreciation for this insane part of the city.
Shot on Kodak Tri-X and Ektar with my Leica M4-P.
Los Angeles, California
My final trip of the summer was to Los Angeles. I went out there to audition for the Philharmonic where I was promptly eliminated in the first round, but that is really okay. I am not a west coast boy and it allowed me some quality time with friends and family that are based out there.
I got to spend a wonderful afternoon and evening with my cousin Julien (@Julien__Sage). Julien is one of the most gifted photographers I know and a true gem of a human. He is a big reason why I got back into this medium and I’m truly grateful for it. Julien took me to some awesome locations around the city while we still had that beautiful, warm California light and then our evening slowly devolved into cold martinis and wonderful conversation.
All of these images were taken on Kodak Portra 400.
Toronto, Ontario
And of course, between all of that was a busy summer running all over the city that I call home, Toronto. This final set of images could be a journal in itself, but I want to tack it on the end of this recap.
I opened this journal questioning my ability to take photos when I’m back home and I think this set is proof that this mentality is completely self made and something I need to continue to reject. Anything can be a beautiful image if you look at it with love, curiosity, and care.
Too many cameras and too many different film stocks to list here.
